Civic Summit

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On Thursday Austin Mayoral runoff candidates Steve Adler and Mike Martinez recorded Civic Summit: Mayoral Runoff Conversation, an hour-long discussion about the leadership qualities each would employ if they are elected on December 16. Our Sunday News Brief includes excerpts from that debate. The entire debate is online and will air on KLRU on Friday, November 21 at 8pm.

A point of discussion in this election has been what the mayor’s role will be in wrangling discussion and debate among the ten new city council members.

“Whether you’re a district council member from east or west Austin, your issues are going to be the same,” explained Martinez. “As mayor, you find that common ground, and you build on that common ground.”

“We have one city here,” said Adler. “And we either move together as a whole city or none of us are going to be moving together.

KLRU, Leadership Austin, Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life and KUT will host three nights of discussions about leadership with runoff candidates for Austin’s 10 City Council districts and Austin Mayor.

The forums are free but an RSVP is required. One RSVP gets you access to all tapings on that night. Please RSVP separately for each night you plan to attend.

Tuesday, November 11
5:45 pm Doors open
District 1: 6:30-7pm
District 3: 7:15-7:45pm
District 4: 8:00-8:30pm
District 6: 8:45-9:15pmRSVP

Wednesday, November 12
5:45 pm Doors open
District 7: 6:30-7pm
District 8: 7:15-7:45pm
District 10: 8:00-8:30pmRSVP

All run-off candidates will be invited to participate in discussions to be taped for broadcast in KLRU’s Civic Summit series. Invitations are also extended to newly-elected council members in Districts 2, 5 & 9 to speak on the same topics.

Only four of the 78 candidates who ran for Austin’s 10 new districts and for Mayor have ever served at City Hall. As our government shifts from an at-large council to one with geographic representation, each person on the dais will be tasked with leading their region, while keeping a focus on the needs of the city as a whole. Our conversations will focus on leadership values and qualities each candidate will bring to our rapidly changing city.

Civic Summit: Runoff Discussions will be focused on the theme of leadership. “By the time run-off elections begin, we will have heard candidates’ opinions on specific policies and projects. What we want to focus on is what leadership values and qualities will they bring to help lead our rapidly changing city,” said Christopher Kennedy, Leadership Austin CEO.

KLRU will broadcast a series of forums featuring the candidates in the Austin runoff elections. We will also feature conversations with District 2 & District 5 Council Member-Elect. Here are all the air dates and times.

DATE: Wednesday, August 27TIME: event will start promptly at 7 pm (doors open at 6:30 pm)LOCATION: KLRU Studio 6A (Map/Directions)RSVP: The event is free but RSVP is required. RSVP NOW

Austin voters will elect 10 council members in November from 10 new geographic districts. They’ll also elect a new mayor, the only person on the dais tasked with governing the city as a whole. KLRU and the Austin Urban Land Institute will host one of the first mayoral debates of the election cycle, just days after filing closes. We’ll hear each candidate’s plan to move Austin forward and find out how each will navigate a new council structure with 10 distinct points of view.

By now you’ve probably heard the news: Austin voters will elect 10 council members in November from 10 new geographic districts. They’ll also elect a new mayor, the only person on the dais tasked with governing the city as a whole. KLRU and the Austin Urban Land Institute are excited to announce we will host one of the first mayoral debates of the election cycle, just days after filing closes, moderated by Jennifer Stayton of KUT News.

During Civic Summit: Mayoral Candidate Forum we’ll hear each candidate’s plan to move Austin forward and find out how each will navigate a new council structure with 10 distinct points of view.

To participate in the forum candidates must have officially filed all of the necessary paperwork required to appear on the ballot. Each candidate must also show evidence of a campaign. That includes, but is not limited to, distribution of volunteers and contributors, presence of a headquarters, campaign staff, and campaign appearances. Candidacy must also be significant, meaning the candidate can demonstrate voter interest and support either in the form of independent and reliable polling or media coverage.

The forum will take place in KLRU’s Studio 6A on August 27 starting at 7pm and will be open to the public. Doors open at 6:30pm. An RSVP link will be coming soon. The forum will be broadcast on KLRU the following evening, Thursday, August 28 at 8pm.

KLRU explores the topics that matters most to our community. Tune in on April 24th for an evening of local public affairs programming focused on East Austin.

Austin Revealed: Civil Rights Stories at 8 pm
Interviews prominent Austin citizens about their experience during Austin’s civil rights period, the effect of segregation and what gentrification has meant to the city.

Civic Summit: East Austin Revealed at 8:30 pm
A community discussion examining Austin’s race issues, past and present. African Americans in Austin have historically formed communities east of I-35, originally by law. Today gentrification threatens to dissolve the close-knit relationships and communities built over time. As our city grows, how can we productively discuss these issues and foster a healthy dialog.

DATE: April 3
TIME: 7pm (Doors open at 6:30 pm)
LOCATION: KLRU’s Studio 6A, 2504-B Whitis at the corner of Dean Keeton and Guadalupe (map).
RSVP: The event is free but an RSVP is required. RSVP Now

Civic Summit: East Austin Revealed is a community discussion examining East Austin’s race issues, past and present. African Americans in Austin have historically formed communities east of I-35, originally by law. As our city grows these communities are threatened, leading to the dissolution of close-knit relationships built over time. Dr. Kevin Michael Foster, Associate Professor of African and African Diaspora Studies at UT will moderate a panel discussion including opportunity for audience comments and questions.

Guests include:

Lee Leffingwell, Austin Mayor

Dawnna Dukes, State Representative

Wilhelmina Delco, Former State Representative

John-Michael Cortez, Community Involvement Manager, Capital Metro

Natalie Cofield, President and CEO of the Greater Austin Black Chamber of Commerce

The discussion will follow a screening of Austin Revealed: Civil Rights Stories, a documentary featuring interviews with prominent citizens about their experience during Austin’s civil rights period, the effect of segregation and what gentrification has meant to the city. Watch the Austin Revealed videos

All of Me: A Story of Love, Loss and Last Resorts will air nationally on Independent Lens March 24th at 8 pm. KLRU is the presenting PBS station for this documentary, which explores the relationships between a group of women from Austin who have been friends — and morbidly obese — for years. But now, having weight-loss surgery is about to upset everything they thought they knew about health, happiness, friendship and love.

KLRU produced, and is distributing to PBS stations nation-wide, a townhall-style show called Civic Summit: Obesity, Weight Loss and Body Acceptance. The Civic Summit explores the complex issues and experiences surrounding obesity and weight loss. This panel discussion will raise questions and provide information and insights related to the physical and emotional challenges confronting those in our society who are obese. Experts in the field of weight loss surgery, mental health, wellness and body acceptance discuss the struggles, stigma and prejudices faced by members of the obese community and the many options available to them.

All Of Me focuses on the journeys of three of these Austin women: Judy, who is determined to succeed while her husband is conflicted; Dawn, who had an early career as a fat model and calendar girl, and struggles with both her weight and identity; and the heaviest of the Girls, Zsalynn, who, at over 500 pounds, desperately tries to save enough money for surgery, for her young daughter’s sake.

Through their stories, All of Me shines light on our attitudes and prejudices about obesity — its causes, challenges, and the intense psychological struggle so many have with food that no surgery or diet can cure. The Girls take us through their food addiction and emotional eating with a searing honesty. For a group so often vilified, joked about, or ignored, All of Me provides a platform for their stories and encourages viewers to take a fresh look at our own prejudices and complicated relationships with food, fat, and our bodies.

KLRU worked with filmmaker Alexandra Lescaze on both the documentary and the Civic Summit. Lescaze is a NY-based documentary filmmaker and the Executive Director of the Sidney Hillman Foundation, home of the annual Hillman Prizes in Journalism and monthly Sidney Awards, honoring excellence in journalism in service of the common good. Her first film, Where Do You Stand? stories from an American mill, documented the 25-year effort of North Carolina textile workers to organize a union in the face of modernization and globalization.

Watch on KLRU or join our online community discussion starting at 9 pm May 16th. Take part in the online screening now

KLRU’s ongoing dialogue on civic engagement, Why Bother? takes an in-depth look at how the change to Austin City Council’s governing structure will impact voters. Experts and community members from across the city meet to discuss issues that are most important to them, to try to figure out how 10 separate districts will reconcile their differences once the new council is elected.

Why Bother? an ongoing dialogue on civic engagement, takes an in-depth look at how the change to Austin City Council’s governing structure will impact voters. Experts and community members from across the city meet to discuss issues that are most important to them, to try to figure out how 10 separate districts will reconcile their differences once the new council is elected.

Sponsored by the Strauss Institute for Civic Life, KLRU, and KUT, this event is part of Why Bother? Engaging Texans in Democracy Today, a news and public dialogue series intended to provoke a conversation among regular people about why Texas has one of the lowest rates of civic engagement in the world, and what we can do about it.